Golf putter

ABSTRACT

A golf putter wherein the club head includes an arcuate rear surface and a top surface having a recess therein. The arcuate rear surface has a radius of curvature slightly less than the radius of curvature of a golf putting cup. The recess in the top surface is generally in the shape of a semi-circle having a radius of curvature which is slightly greater than the radius of curvature of a golf ball. The semi-circular recess includes a bottom formed by an insert and opens into the rear arcuate surface whereby the club head may be inserted into a putting cup to scoop balls into the semi-circular recess for retrieving balls without stooping. A vertical plane bisecting the semi-circular recess and arcuate rear surface passes through the sweet spot on the front face of putter head, whereby the recess and rear surface facilitate aligning the putter head with the putting cup. The semi-circular recess includes substantially vertical side walls which the player can employ visually to assume substantially the same position relative the putter head each time the ball is addressed for putting and thereby supplement the kinesthetic training of the putting muscles.

United States Patent 1 1 [111 3,7793% Hunter 1 Dec. 18, 1973 GOLF PUTTERAtt0rneyEric R. Schellin and John A. Robertson [76] Inventor: James T.Hunter, 6239 W. Marshall,

Glendale, Ariz. 85301 [22] Filed: I Feb. 26, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 119,301

[52] US. Cl 273/183 D, 273/183 E, 273/162 E, 273/164, 273/175 [51] Int.Cl. A631) 53/00, A63b 69/36 [58] Field of Search 273/162, 163, 164,273/169,170,171,167,183,193,194,175; 294/19 A [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 3,632,112 l/1972 Jacobs 273/164 1,960,110 5/1934lles 273/162 E 2,478,468 8/1949 Drake 273/175 3,408,074 10/1968Antonious 273/169 X 3,064,975 11/1962 Smith 273/162 E X 1,666,174 4/1928Holland 273/169 X 2,838,312 6/1958 Drake 273/183 D FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 448,870 12/1934 Great Britain 273/167 A PrimaryExaminerGe0rge J. Marlo ABSTRACT vature slightly less than the radius ofcurvature of a golf putting cup. The recess in the top surface isgenerally in the shape of a semi-circle having a radius of curvaturewhich is slightly greater than the radius of curvature of a golf ball.The semi-circular recess includes a bottom formed by an insert and opensinto the rear arcuate surface whereby the club head may be inserted intoa putting cup to scoop balls into the semi-circular recess forretrieving balls without stooping. A vertical plane bisecting thesemi-circular recess and arcuate rear surface passes through the sweetspot on the front face of putter head, whereby the recess and rearsurface facilitate aligning the putter head with the putting cup. Thesemi-circular recess includes substantially vertical side walls whichthe player can employ visually to assume substantially the same positionrelative the putter head each time the ball is addressed for putting andthereby supplement the kinesthetic training of the putting muscles.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures GOLF PUTTER This invention relates to golfclubs.

More specifically, this invention relates to an improved putter headwhich assists the player in lining up his putt.

In yet another aspect, this invention relates to an improvement wherebythe player can visually judge his position relative the putter head moreaccurately and thereby assume substantially the same position inpreparation for his putt each time he addresses the ball.

A great many putters of various configurations and with various markingsare known to the prior art. Many of these putters have attempted toovercome the problem which almost all golfers have in lining up theirputts. Generally speaking, the art of putting well is one that ismastered after many years of assiduous practice. The player sharpens hisskills and becomes a more consistent putter largely through repetitionand training of his kinesthetic senses. The eye is of assistance invisually aligning the putter head, the ball and the cup in a gross way.However, kinesthesia is largely responsible for the degree of accuracywith which the golfer putts. The golfer, having performed so manyrepetitions of a 'putt which has been observed in the past to becorrect,

knows when he is performing a good putt by the way it feels. One of thehindrances to making a consistently good putt is the difficulty inproperly aligning the putter, the ball and the cup through visual means.Another aspect of the visual problems connected with putting is thedifficulty inherent in trying to assume the same position relative theputter head in successive putts. If the same position can be dependablyassumed on successive putts, then the putt will be more regular anddependable. Thus, the kinesthetic sense of putting devel oped by theplayer can be made to operate on the same factors in successive putts,thus yielding a higher percentage of successive putts and reinforcingthe kinesthetic learning process.

It is therefor an object of this invention to provide a novel putterhead which will assist the golfer in visually aligning the putter head,theball and the cup.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a putter headwhich will enable the golfer to assume substantially the same positionrelative the putter head by visual means on successive putts.

It is a further object of this invention to make such a putter headwhich is of simple and inexpensive construction.

Other, further and more specific objects and advantages of the inventiondisclosed will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing description of the invention taken in conjunction with thedrawings, in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of the front face of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the device taken along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a view of the rear face elevation of this invention; and

FIG. 5 is a view of this invention in alignment with a golf ball and aclub green cup.

Briefly, the invention provides a golf putter head for use with astandrad golf club shaft. The head has a front face which can be said tohave a sweet spot. In golfing vernacular, the sweet spot of the putterhead means the spot on the front face where the mass of the club head iscentered. In this sense, the same amount of mass is disposed toward theheel and the toe of the club on each side of the sweet spot. Thus, whenthe golf ball is contacted with the sweet spot, a solid, satisfyingcontact is made between ball and club and there is no resultant shudderor a tendency to pivot the heel or toe of the club around the point ofimpact. The club also has a rear face having a perimeter which describesa first arc of the first circle. In the rear face is a recess which hasa bottom and a vertical sides. The vertical sides describe a cooperatingarc in the second circle intersecting the arc of the rear face. Thesetwo arcs are positioned relative each other and the putter head suchthat a substantially vertical plane bisecting the first arc and thecooperating arc passes through the sweet spot of the front face. Anymeans for visibly marking at least two cooperating arcs of at least onecircle on the putter head will suffice, although refinements asindicated herein are preferred.

In common with other putter heads, the putter may be said to have a toe,a heel, a sole, a neck and a hosel.

The invention also provides a recess which has a contoured bottom whichis shaped and sized to receive a golf ball. This is a convenience inscooping a golf ball out of the cup or off the green.

In another aspect, the first arc of this invention has approximately theradius of curvature of a golf cup and the cooperating arc has a radiusof curvature slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the golfball.

Turning now to the drawings, attention is invited to FIG. 1 whichillustrates a novel putter head 1 in persective, with a standard puttershaft to be fitted thereto shown in phantom outline. The location of thesweet spot 2 is marked on the front face of the putter head with an X.The various parts of a putter head, though not necessary to adescription of this invention, are identified as the toe 3, the heel 4,the neck 5 and the hosel 6. The rear face 7 is better illustrated inFIG. 4, as is the sole 8. The front face 9 is a flat surface with asubstantially perpendicular orientation to the turf when in an attitudeof play. In the presently preferred embodiment of this invention, thefront face 9 is slightly open, which means that it slopes toward therear face 7 from sole 8 to top surface 10.

The rear face 7, observed from above, as depicted in FIG. 3, describes afirst arc ll 1 of a first circle which has a slightly smaller radius ofcurvature than a standard golf cup. A cooperating are 12 of a secondcircle intersects the first arc Ill. The circle from which the arc 12 istaken is slightly larger than the diameter of a standard golf ball. Itis an experimentally observed fact that in observing a circular orarcuate object or design the eyes are drawn to positions which can bedescribed by reference to a clock as 3:00 and 9:00 oclock. This appearsto be normal with most people. Using this invention the player, inlooking dowm on the putter head and golf ball, automatically aligns thegolf ball in relation to the putter head such that a line bisecting thefirst are 11 (at 3:00 oclock) and the cooperating are 12 (at 9:00oclock) will also bisect the two arcs formed by the right hemisphere l3and the left hemisphere 14 of the golf ball 12a, (also at 3:00 and 9:00oclock, as illustrated in FIG. 3). The player will also automaticallyline up the putter head and the golf ball such that the line 15 as shownin FIG. 5 will also bisect the arcs formed by the near semi-circle l6and the farther semicircle ]l7 of the circle formed by the golf cup 18.The

line also passes through the sweet spot 2 of the front face 9. Thelatter phenomenon may be a function of peripheral vision or it may be avisually retained memory of the position of the golf cup. Whatever thephysiological explanation for the phenomenon may be, it has beenobserved to work with most people.

In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the recess 21 inthe rear face 7, as illustrated in FIG. 4, has vertical sides 22 and acontoured bottom 23, which is useful in scooping up the golf ball out ofa cup or off the green. To accomplish this, the radius of curvature ofthe first arc must be smaller than the radius of curvature of thestandard golf cup.

A useful function performed by the vertical sides 22 is to assist thegolfer in positioning himself the same way relative the putter head foreach stroke or putt. In looking down, the player adjusts his stance andhis position relative the putter head so that he sees only the tosurface 10 and the contoured bottom 23 and none or very little of thevertical sides 22. Thus the kinesthetic training of his putting musclesis supplemented and assisted by mechanical visual alignment.

Standard putter head materials may be used; however, the construction ofthis novel putter head tends to be somewhat bulkier than ordinary andconsiderations of weight and comfort may dictate use of lighter weightmaterials, such as wood or plastic. It has been found convenient toscoop out a recess in the rear face into which a preformed insert 30 canbe inserted as may best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4.

Having now fullying described my invention and the present embodimentthereof, I claim:

1. In a golf putter including a shaft and a head attached to one end ofsaid shaft, said putter being intended to propel a standard golf balltowards a standard cylindrical putting green cup; said head including:

a. a toe;

b. a heel;

c. a sole extending between said toe and heel;

d. a hose] extending upwardly from said heel and to which one end ofsaid shaft is connected;

e. a curved rear surface extending from said toe to said heel anddefined by an are having a radius slightly less than that of said golfcup;

f. a top surface extending between said toe and said hosel;

g. a recess opening onto said top and rear surfaces,

said recess being defined by a surface which is substantially verticalwhen said head is in putting position and which surface is defined by anarc of a radius slightly greater th anth atpf said golf ball;

h. two spaced points of intersection on said rear surface where the arcdefining said rear surface is intersected by the arc which defines saidrecess, and

i. a front face extending between said toe and heel and having a sweetspot that lies in the vertical plane which bisects the arcs between saidpoints of intersection when said head is in putting position.

2. The golf putter head of claim 1 in which the recess extends into thehead from the top surface to a bottom surface spaced from the sole.

1. In a golf putter including a shaft and a head attached to one end ofsaid shaft, said putter being intended to propel a standard golf balltowards a standard cylindrical putting green cup; said head including:a. a toe; b. a heel; c. a sole extending between said toe and heel; d. ahosel extending upwardly from said heel and to which one end of saidshaft is connected; e. a curved rear surface extending from said toe tosaid heel and defined by an arc having a radius slightly less than thatof said golf cup; f. a top surface extending between said toe and saidhosel; g. a recess opening onto said top and rear surfaces, said recessbeing defined by a surface which is substantially vertical when saidhead is in putting position and which surface is defined by an arc of aradius slighlty greater than that of said golf ball; h. two spacedpoints of intersection on said rear surface where the arc defining saidrear surface is intersected by the arc which defines said recess, and i.a front face extending between said toe and heel and having a sweet spotthat lies in the vertical plane which bisects the arcs between saidpoints of intersection when said head is in putting position.
 2. Thegolf putter head of claim 1 in which the recess extends into the headfrom the top surface to a bottom surface spaced from the sole.